Oh you Student Loan Collection people are hilarious.

[styersc]

Of course my payments are few and far between. For cryin'out loud, y'all gave me money to get degrees in Anthropology.

Anyway, arcaheologists really can't get too upset by 30, 60, or 90 days in arrears. Three hundred, six hundred, nine hundred years, sure, then you've got my attention.

Isn't there some Law School grad or MBA you can be chasing- you might get some money out of them.

[datasuspect]

1. there's a way to put them on hiatus - indefinitely

step one: get a consolidation loan - http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/borrower/borrower.shtml

step two: let this cook for the time necessary and petition your various loan holders for general forbearances. often you can get these backdated. take them out for one year.

step three: once the consolidation is done, get a general forbearance on it and keep forbearing until you want to pay.

[EstimatedProphet]

2. I have to look into that!

[styersc]

13. thanks for the heads up.

[BlooInBloo]

16. ROFLMAO!!! Got a problem with a loan? Take out another! Genius!

[datasuspect]

46. what's more laughable is that you don't seem to grasp the concept of CONSOLIDATION

it's a way to take multiple accounts from multiple student loan lenders and put them all together in ONE account.

who's the real genius?

don't be such an ass all the time.

[yurbud]

56. my family talked me into refinancing my federal loan with a private lender to shave a few points off

but I will probably regret since any reform will be less likely to affect it now than if it was still in government hands.

[opiate69]

20. And, I would add...

definitely look into the "income contingent repayment plan" option..

[MrCoffee]

3. hey, what makes you think law school grads can pay their student loans?

i speak from personal experience when i tell you that they can't. and i'll bet you my student loans against your student loans that mine are way bigger.


p.s...if my student loan collections officer is reading this, you're a really swell guy!

[Orrex]

4. Death and taxes ain't got nothing on student loans

I might actually stop hating Bush for, say, five or ten seconds if he were to declare a general student loan amnesty.

[JVS]

5. "Isn't there some Law School grad or MBA you can be chasing"

No, they pay on time.

[styersc]

15. You're right.

Which probably makes up for the fact that Lawyers and MBAs are the most irritating, worthless dick sucking sacks of shit that exist on earth.

Can't beat the company of George Bush (MBA), Alberto Gonzalez and Scooter Libby (Lawyers).

[nini]

25. They are all those things because they pay their bills on time?

:shrug:


What about lawyers that work for the ACLU or do pro bono work?

Or MBA's that work for non profits etc..?

Not ALL of them are what you say they are.

[fudge stripe cookays]

27. No, just my ex boyfriend.

He lied for a living.

[MrCoffee]

29. i'm a lawyer

so thanks for that.

[styersc]

33. My apologies to JVS, nini, fudge stripe cookays, and Mr. Coffee.

My comments were caustic and rude. I tried to "edit" my language away but I had waited too long. Regardless I acted like a ninny on a flippant thread. Again, I'm sorry- both for the language and even worse, equating anyone in fine professions to the likes of Bush, Gonzalez and Libby.

[nini]

37. thanks for that

:-)


God only knows I NEVER get excited and post stuff over the top :sarcasm: :D

[styersc]

38. The internet is too small a place to make enemies with asanine

comments.

[ceile]

6. I hear ya.

But when you receive a letter from the state Attorney General threatening legal action, you may want to start paying. :scared:

[dajoki]

7. They stole my daughter's...

income tax refund to pay off her student loan. AND SHE WAS MAKING THE PAYMENTS!!:mad:

[doc03]

8. Same thing happened to my brother, he talked to them

and they set up a payment plan and he was making his payments. Then come income tax time he was expecting his refund to get caught up on other bills and they confiscated his refund. Needless to say it made a mess he missed other payments I ended up having to help him out. At the time he had a wife and two small children and was trying to survive on a $7.00 per hour pay.

[dajoki]

12. This kind of stuff is...

legalized robbery. I'm sure there are many other horror stories like ours. I hope things work out well for you and your brother.:hi:

[cwydro]

31. they can take your social security now also

when you reach that age.

[dajoki]

32. That I did not know...

Does it get more evil? Just when you think things can't get any worse, they do. I lost a great job once because of Raygun's union busting tactics, and thought it couldn't get any worse. I was wrong!!

[cwydro]

39. Yep

that was passed this year.

[dajoki]

40. Do you have...

a link to any sight that explains this. I am on SSD and would like to find out as much as I can, just in case. I want to know my rights and responsibilites. Thank You:hi:

[cwydro]

42. It was passed by Congress earlier this year.

You could try googling college loans, defaults and social security...I'll try tomorrow and will pm you if I find it. Don't know if it applies to SSD, but it certainly did to people over 62 or whatever the age is for SS.

I was appalled when it happened.

[dajoki]

45. Thank You...

I'll try some searches. And this was passed by the Dem controlled Congress? That IS appalling.

[styersc]

14. Holy Cow- this is an epidemic.

in all honesty, I do make my payments and recieved a phone call the other day by mistake, about a payment that had already been made but since then I've heard a lot of horror stories.

One friend was hired at a state job but because he was behind on Student loan payments the offer was withdrawn and he is back to waiting tables. Someone ought to make this a campaign issue.

[dajoki]

18. I knew it was bad...

but to take someone's job, thats evil.

[fudge stripe cookays]

30. It's a federal thing too.

I used to work for the evil empire (IRS, sorry. I know. The benefits were good and I needed the money while I finished MY degree).

One of the conditions of federal employment is staying current on all your bills and keeping your nose clean in general. They can sack you for arrests, disorderlies, defaulting on bills, etc.

[Gormy Cuss]

26. If she was not in default she could have protested that action.

It's too late now, but something to keep in mind for the future. The general rule is that the loan must be in default and that she be notified prior to the IRS offset so that she has an opportunity to object.

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/treasury.offset.payments.html

[dajoki]

36. Thanks for the info...

because she is still paying another.:hi:

[SammyWinstonJack]

58. My husband's refund went for my student loan, and since we filed jointly, they could do that.

I had no income. Thing is, I took out a student loan and used it to pay my ex-husband's tuition. Yes I was stupid! . In our divorce, he was ordered to pay my student loan...yeah right! :rofl: He never did and since it was in my name, I was responsible for it. :mad:

[Inchworm]

9. Those bastards are holding my transcripts hostage

indirectly... :banghead:

Because they are in default the college where I received AA at will not release transcripts. So my plans to pick up my Bachelors are shot to hell unless I start over.

I'm pretty pissed and discouraged about the whole thing.

:grr:

[idgiehkt]

10. that is horrible.

I had no idea they could do that. :hug:

[purr]

11. hubbys income tax got taken away from him too!

and he was making payments as well :/

[dajoki]

19. My daughter...

wasn't even notified until well after the fact.

[purr]

21. Same here!!

Was expecting a nice fat refund.. then got the letter that they intercepted our income tax. Pissed me right off because they took mine too. Grr.

[dajoki]

23. Like I said earlier...

its legaiized robbery. But I guess the government can steal from us anyway they want, Bastards!!:mad:

[catmandu57]

34. You can recoup your portion

If you're free and clean, file an injured spouse form #8379 and you can get your portion.

[purr]

49. I'm free and clean!!! :)

That was 2 years ago, can I still do that?

[Danger Mouse]

17. collections people in general are hilarious.

they're hired to be mean, spiteful, vicious people.
forbearances are your friend.
don't default.
default bad.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

22. Especially if you can't get a job with that degree.

[nini]

24. My lawyer niece struggles every month to pay her loans off

So, what line of work you go into does not necessarily mean it's easier to pay off your loan.

Sorry, but no sympathy from me - I paid mine off on time and it hurt like hell every month to send that money in. I had no problem cashing their checks that allowed me to get my education so why is it ok to decide when to pay or not?

If you truly need a forebearance then ask for one, but if you just don't feel like you want to send them the required amount there's no excuse. The line of work you chose is no excuse for not addressing your debts with them.

[gmoney]

28. another reason I'm really starting to...

I'm really having a hard time seeing what redeeming qualities this country still possesses.

Student loan policy is an active deterrent to getting an education, driving people into the military based on the promise of "money for college" or simply forcing high school grads into the general work force rather than encouraging them to go to college and get smart/skilled enough to compete for high paying job against the imported "guest workers" who will do the job for 1/3 of what an "American" will expect to earn.

Even "state" schools are getting to be beyond the financial reach of most middle-class families... my tax dollars at work. Aaargh!

SERENITY NOW!

</rant>

[styersc]

35. All kidding aside, I certainly pay my loans, however, several

things about college financing really bothers me.

First- a gov't insured loan that is issued by and paid back to a private lender. If it is gov't insured they risk nothing and make an increasing amount on interest. Why doesn't the gov't itself offer the loan and take the interest to subsidize higher education. Tuition, as it is is going through the roof.

Second all the punitive stipulations attached to the student loan system. If anyone ever had a drug conviction, they are forever banned from recieving help through financial aid. Who needs aid more then a formerly troubled kid trying to turn his life around. If your gym teacher caught you in a room with kids smoking pot, you could be arrested and kept from recieving student loans for all of your life but if you wreck a stolen school bus while driving drunk you can get a loan???

Next the requirement to be signed up for selecitve service- young men ONLY. If you fail to sign up for the draft, your sweeping the floor at the Piggly Wiggly for good, or paying outrageous tuition on your own.

This on top of heavy handed collection techniques suggrst the system needs to be fixed.

[NewWaveChick1981]

47. As a Director of Financial Aid, I can tell you....

...that there is a parallel program to the Federal Stafford Loan, and it's the William D. Ford Federal Direct Stafford Loan. The Feds are the lender. However, there is much more funding to be had at the private level, and the Feds could not secure enough funding to cover the demand for student loans if the Direct Loan Program took over completely. Yeah, it's a great idea on paper, but given the Federal track record, it would be an even worse train wreck than things are now. I have researched this topic heavily, and I (among many other financial aid professionals) have drawn the same conclusion every time. I take great pains to counsel students AWAY from loans if at all possible. The reliance on loans of all sorts for college attendance does indeed act as a deterrent for people unable to afford college out of pocket. This saddens me, and I do what I can to prevent that from happening. (A LOT of financial aid professionals feel as I do, fortunately.) Unfortunately, I have also seen the shift in Federal aid over the time I've been in the profession; when I started in 1985, the grant/loan/work mix was about 80/10/10; now it's 40/50/10. This is due in no small part to Reagan-era policies and cutbacks that continued through the Bush Sr. admin. In the Clinton admin, we saw the first real increases in the Federal Pell Grant in a long, long time, but because of previous policy, it was a frustrating, unwinnable game of catch-up. Since Bush the Idiot Boy has been in office, we've seen only one increase in the Federal Pell Grant in six years.

As for the drug conviction thing, the Feds have a two-year rule that allows students to be reconsidered. http://ifap.ed.gov/fafsa/attachments/q31wksht78.pdf I agree---it's a stupid piece of political idiocy that prompted this rule to begin with, but to make themselves look good, Congress decided to punish college-going people with drug convictions---never mind that they're trying to better themselves.

The Selective Service issue is grossly unfair. The Feds have males over a barrel; not only do they have to be registered or have registered when they were of age---they can still draft these men too. I have never had to turn away a woman for aid because she wasn't registered with Selective Service. It's discriminatory and outdated.

Hope that helps. :)

Edited to add: I have my own student loans and have had my own struggles with them. I couldn't have gotten through my bachelor's degree or my master's degree without them. However, they do indeed suck ass. :(

[Yavin4]

53. "Why doesn't the gov't itself offer the loan and take the interest to subsidize higher education. "

Because then the politicians would not get huge campaign contributions from the college loan industry.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

41. Silly colectors, don't they know shovelbums are broke?

Former digger here. I finally had to get out of the biz because jobs were too few and far between. Now I'm fixing TV's.

Anyway, bonne chance and keep those walls straight!

[styersc]

43. Very cool. Love to hear from another shovel bum.

Fixing TV's. Holy cow, that's a real skill. Not many of us square hole digger have a real live skill.

[Swamp Rat]

44. I can relate

x(

[Wetzelbill]

48. yeah, I mean seriously, how much money did they think

they'd ever get back from a guy with video production and creative writing degrees.

Unless, I direct a huge movie or my book hits the jackpot..... :rofl:

[LostinVA]

50. I got collection calls for my students loans even when I was making more than the minimum

It took letters and calls to elected officials to get that straightened out.

THEN I started getting collection calls about a loan the college itself had given me. This is fifteen years after I graduated. Ten years after I paid off the THREE HUNDRED DOLLAR loan (which I now owed $3,750 on). WTF? Luckily, my Mom keeps everything, and I had proof to send it in, along with a copy of the law saying they could no longer collect even if I hadn't paid the damned thing off. They had NEVER contacted me in all that time, even though they certainly had my address.

It's a scam. Seriously.

[SKKY]

51. I read somewhere, and I'll try to find it and post on here...

...that some businesses have used this as an "alternate revenue" source. Get people 5, 10, 15 years later who paid something off, but of course didn't keep the receipts, and threaten them with legal action if they don't pay up.

[krispos42]

52. Time to spend the year dead for tax purposes

Tell'em you were advised by your lawyer to do that. I'm curious to see what the collections flunkie says!

[Yavin4]

54. Anyone Hear About The College Loan Scandals

Some lenders offer kickbacks to the school's financial aid officer and the school's administration if they steered students to them. It's really, really bad.

Most of our major institutions, our government, our political system, our media, and even now even our universities are all on the take. They've become the mafia.

[yurbud]

57. as a college instructor, I can say relationship between administrators and business world like...

Cheney and Halliburton to the point that if there is no opportunity for a kick back, they don't give a fuck.

That's why community colleges might cut classes, fire instructors and not give those they keep health insurance, but are putting up buildings that would put star trek sets to shame.

[yurbud]

55. I graduated with $50K in student loans. Now I've succesfully whittled them down to $100K